Marquee signings help record A-League attendance

AP , Associated Press

Apr. 2, 20139:39 PM ET

SYDNEY (AP) — Marquee signings such as former Juventus and Italy star Alessandro Del Piero and ex-England international Emile Heskey have helped the A-League achieve a record total attendance during the regular season of nearly 1.67 million spectators.

Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop said in a statement Wednesday that the figure was 250,000 more than last season. He also said the average attendance of 12,348 was the highest since expanding from eight teams to 10.

The A-League's inaugural season of 2005-06 saw average regular-season attendance at 11,281 rise to a high of 14,608 in 2007-08. But it had been declining to a low of 8,393 last season.

Del Piero signed with Sydney FC and Heskey with the Newcastle Jets. Neither team made the finals series which begin this weekend.

SYDNEY (AP) — Marquee signings such as former Juventus and Italy star Alessandro Del Piero and ex-England international Emile Heskey have helped the A-League achieve a record total attendance during the regular season of nearly 1.67 million spectators.